Container and closure therefor



Jmiy 30, 1946 w. s. GAINES CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 29,1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- ammwg W. S. GAINES CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFORJuly 30, 1946.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 29, 1942 Patented July 30, 1946 2,404,777CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Walter S. Gaines, Chagrin Falls, Ohio,assignor, by mesne assignments, to Republic Industries, Inc., New York,N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application January 29, 1942, SerialNo. 428,731

1 Claim. (01. 220-61) This invention relates to containers andparticularly to containers of the class having walls coated withvitreous enamel, and provided with closures Operable to close and seal,or open, the same.

One of the particularly useful applications of the invention herein tobe described is to the containers of chemical fire extinguishers; andthe invention will therefore, for illustrative purposes, be describedherein as applied to that use, although as Will become apparenthereinafter some of the features of the invention, such for example asthe container closure, are applicable to other classes of containers.

The corrosion-proof properties of a vitreousenamel-coated containeradapts it obviously to the field of chemical fire extinguishers, but itsapplication to such use introduces problems to be solved, the mostdifficult of solution being the provision of a practical corrosion-proofclosure which can be manually operated to seal the container after ithas been charged and to unseal it and seal it again repeatedly when thecharge is to be renewed. The problems arise from the fact that thevitreous enamel coating prohibits the use of the usual conventionalsimple threaded closure, because it is diilicult if not impossible tocoat the wall of the container so as not to leave bare corrodable metaladjacent the threads, and because when the wall of the container is madeof thin steel for purposes of economical manufacture, threads ofsuificient depth and strength cannot be formed on it; and if the thinsteel enamel-coated wall is put under any considerable bending stress byoperating the closure construction, it will crack the enamel coat anddestroy its corrosion-proof usefulness.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention:

To provide generally an improved enamelcoated steel container;

To provide an enamel-coated steel container having an improved sealingclosure which may be opened and closed;

To provide generally an improved sealing closure for enamel-coatedcontainers;

To provide an improved construction of fire extinguisher container andclosure therefor;

To provide an improved construction of sealing gasket for the closure ofa container.

Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which theinvention appertains.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which,

the fire extinguisher type embodying my invention and with a part brokenaway for convenience of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken from the plane 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a. fragmentary longitudinal sectional view. of a lower cornerof the container of Fig. 1, and the View may be referred to the plane 55of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but referred to the plane 8-6 of Fig.4;

Fig. 7 is a View illustrating a part which is broken away from Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view to enlarged scale approximately full scale,taken from the plane 88 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 8showing a part in a different operative condition.

Referring now to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 9 inclusive, there is showngenerally at I the main body wall of the container, the upper end ofwhich is Open, and terminating in an outwardly flaring flange i, whichfor purposes to be described, is generally of frusto-conical form; andpreferably, between the main body and the flange 2, the diameter of thebody is reduced to form a, neck 3.

For purposes of economy the wall of the body is fabricated from sheetsteel; and to render the inner wall surfaces corrosion-proof, they arecoated with vitreous enamel; and for the sake of appearances as well asto avoid discoloration and rust, the exterior surfaces of the body arealso coated with vitreous enamel, and to this end the enamel coat ispreferably continuous over the inner and outer surfaces of the bodywall.

The lower end of the body is closed by a bottom 3, press-formed fromsheet steel, and inserted within the side wall of the body and sealedlyjoined thereto as will be described.

Th enamel coat on the outside of the body wall 6, neck 3 and flange 2 isshown at 5, Figs. 5 and 8, and on the inside thereof at 6; and theenamel coat on the inside and outside of the. bottom l is shown, in Fig.5, at 1 and 8 respectively.

The bottom wall, which as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 is 01 downwardlyconcave dished form, has a peripheral skirt or flange 9 telescoped intothe lower end of the side wall I. The juncture between this skirt andside wall is indicated gen-.

erally in Fig. 5, and may be variously constructed and constitutes noessential part of the present invention, and one particular method ofmaking this form of juncture is illustrated and described morecompletely in the co-pending application of Gaines and Meyers, SerialNo. 390,631, filed April 26, 1941 to which reference may be had. But itmay be noted here that the skirt 9 of the bottom, and the lower portionof the side wall I, are integrally connected by welding material at 10and that the outer enamel coats and -8, Fig. 5, may, if desired, beformed continuously over the welding material I8; and that between thebody wall juncture is made mechanically rigid and strong and wherebythere is no point on the inner wall surfaces of the container at thejuncture that are not protected by corrosion-proof material.

To further protect the juncture, and to give it a more finishedappearance, and to cushion it against shocks which might crack theenamel in the event that the container is roughly handled, the lower endof the container, which, as will be apparent from Figs. 1 and 5, isgenerally tubular, is embraced by a channel of rubber or like materiall2, pro-molded to shape and pressed upon and gripping the said tubularend of the container, see Figs. 5 and 4.

It is usually desirable to provide containers of this fire extinguishertype with a handle grip on or within the bottom thereof, and such ahandle carrying at their upper ends a pair of-ring sectors 2!l--20, oneof the ring sectors having connected thereto a loop hanger 21.

Each of the sectors I6, its posts Ill-l9, and its ring sector 22, may beformed all in one piece either by casting the same or by welding theparts thereof integrally together; and the purpose of making two suchassemblies separate from each other as described and as plainlyindicated in Figs. 1 to 3, will now be considered in connection with theclosure for the upper end of the container.

At 22, see Fig. 8, is a cover element, preferably in the form of a steeldisc, enamel coated inside and outside as at 23 and 24 respectively. Theperipheral portion 25 of the disc slopes oppositely to the slope of theflange 2, and this may conveniently be provided by making the disc 22 ofor grip is shownat 13 Figs, 1, l, 6. It consists of a strap or rod ofmetal extending diametrically in Fig. 6, the said end portions 14 beingbent down wardly to lie generally parallel to the skirt 9 of the bottom,and th lower end thereof being integrally joined to the skirt 9 and theside wall I by the weldin material ill. The rubber channel l2 embracesthe end portion IA of the handle asshown in Fig. 6.

Projecting from the side of the container and integrally joined with theside wall I is a tubular spout i5 over which the usual flexible hose ofthe fire extinguisher may be telescoped and attached; and as will beunderstood without further illustration and description, such spout willbe attached, for example by welding, to the wall I before the enamelcoats are applied whereby the spout may be enamelled both insideandoutside with enamel coats continuous with the outside and insidecoatsof the body; such a spout being shown in detail in Fig. 7 andillustrated as broken off in Fig l.

Custom and commerce demand that the upper end of a fire extinguisher ofthis class be provided with an annulus or ring which serves both as acarrying handle, and as a support upon which the fire extinguisher maystand when turned upside down for use; and a hanger by which it may besupported right side up on a hook or the like when not in use; and aclosure to seal the container; and these features which have beenincorporated in the present invention will now be described.

dish form; and preferably the cone angle of the cover portion 25 is madeapproximately the same as the cone angle of the frusto-conical flange 2of thebody.

The inner confronting portions of the sectors Iii-l6 are generally ofchannel form, as plainly shown in Fig. 8, the flanges of the channelhaving'frusto-conical surfaces 2626 and 212'| correspondingapproximately to the form of the frusto-conical flange 2 and discportion 25 respectively.

With such a construction, and as will now be apparent, when the boltsl8|8, referred to in connection with Figs. 1 and 3, draw the sectorsI6--l5 toward each other, the peripheral portion 25 of the cover will bedrawn towardthe flange 2 with a wedging action; and this is utilized tomount the cover 22 on the container and to seal it upon the flange 2 asfollows.

Referring to Fig. 9, a gasket or sealing device shown generally at 28 ismade of pliable, yieldable, corrosion-proof material, and preferably ofa malleable metal such as lead. The gasket 28 is preformed from sheetmaterial into the general form of an annulus, and comprising axiallyaligned tubular portions 29 and 3f); integralwith an intermediateportion 3| extending inwardly radially, and which in cross-section is ofloop form as shown in Fig. 9.

Before putting on the cover 22, one of the tubular portions, for examplethe tubular portion 30 is telescoped downwardly over the flange 2, andis of such internal diameter as to substantially fit the periphery ofthe flange. The loop 3| then lies upon the enamel coat 6 of the flange;The cover 22 is then put into position by telescoping it within theother tubular part 29 of the gasket as shown in Fig. 9, andsubstantially fits therewithin, and rests upon the loop 3| of thegasket. The tubular portions 29 and 30 are then bent inwardly and causedto conform respectively to the enamel coats 24 and 5 externally of thecover 2| and flange 2, being finally in the condition shown in Fig. 8.

The wedging sectors IBIB are then put into the position of Fig. 8 andthe said bolts l8 are mounted in the ears IT as described for Figs. 1and 3, and the bolts 18 are then drawn up tight- I ly, drawing thesectors Iii-l6 toward each other,

The closure, externally considered, and as causing them to exert theaforesaid wedging action. The wedging action, as will be apparent,

tightly clamps the walls of the loop 31 together upon each other andthereby rigidly mounts the cover 22 on the container end. It will alsobe observed from an inspection of Fig. 8 that the enamel coats on boththe outer and inner walls of both the flange 2 and the cover element 22are subjected to the wedging pressure and this produces liquid andpressureproof seals thereat; and that these coats are protected frombeing mutilated or cracked by the pressure, by the yieldable property ofthe gasket material.

Various materials may be used for the gasket, but as stated, lead ispreferred because it is corrosion-proof, and because, being malleable,it may readily be bent to conform to the frusto-conical shape of thecover and the flange, when the cover is put on as described, so thatthis operation may be performed by hand; and because it will retain itsoriginal form of Fig. 9, which facilitates the assembling operation.

To unseal the container and remove the cover 22 for the purposesmentioned, the portion 29 of the gasket, after removing the clampingsectors Iii-46, may be again bent upwardly into tubular form, and thecover 22 then lifted out;

and after the charge in the fire extinguisher has been inspected orrenewed, the cover may be again replaced and the gasket again restoredto its sealing condition and the Wedging sectors I6--l 6 again assembledand drawn up tight. And in this manner the cover may be unsealed andremoved and again put on and sealed, repeatedly, the malleable propertyof lead, when lead is used for the gasket, providing the durabilitydesirable in the gasket when thus repeatedly formed and deformed.

It will be observed that notwithstanding that seal is effected bypressure engagement between the gasket and the enamel coats on thecontainer and the cover, it is effected in such manner that there is noliability that the steel coated partswill bend and crack the enamel.

While all of the advantages and improvements set forth hereinbefore maybe embodied in a container and closure having enamel coated walls, someof the advantages and improvements may be utilized in containers andclosures in which the walls are not coated at all, or in which they arecoated with coatings that are not non-corrosive.

The invention is not limited in all of its features to the exact detailsof construction illustrated and described. Changes and modifications maybe made within the spirit of the invention without sacrificing itsadvantages and within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A sealing closure for the opening of a steelwalled vessel having anoutwardly and upwardly flaring frusto-conical flange surrounding theopening, and a coat of vitreous enamel on the inside of the vesselextending outwardly over the flange; a yieldable sealing gasket ofgenerally annular form having its mid-zone folded inwardly on suchenamelled flange and its lower margin turned under the flange; a coveroverlying the opening and having a peripheral frustoconical portion; acoat of enamel on the portion of the cover engaging the gasket, saidgasket having its upper margin folded over onto the top of the cover;and means to force the cover toward the opening to sealingly press themargins of the gasket against the under surface of the flange and thetop surface of the cover and press its mid-zone between theenamel-coated surfaces of the flange and cover.

WALTER S. GAINES.

